


Prefix

by matrixaffiliate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24337825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matrixaffiliate/pseuds/matrixaffiliate
Summary: Being a godfather can be complicated, especially when you're Harry Potter, but thankfully his godson is always ready to set him straight. Happy birthday ThisIs Megz! Hinny family fluff piece. One-shot. Rated T.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Prefix

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThisisMegz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisisMegz/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Meg! ThisIsMegz birthday is this week and this little fic is for her! Love you darling, and all the wonderful ideas you share with me! Thank you!

Harry set another balloon up on the ceiling with his wand and turned to survey the front room again.

"It looks fine, love," Ginny called from the kitchen.

"Says the woman who has been putting final touches on Teddy's cake for the last thirty minutes," Harry called back.

"Well, I'm done now so you should be too," Ginny grinned as she levitated the cake into the room and onto the table.

"I suppose I have to be," Harry looked up at the clock, "Andy should be here any minute with Teddy and the boys."

"And that means that Teddy's friends will be here in the next twenty minutes." Ginny set a cooling charm on the drinks.

Harry shoved his hand into his hair, "Do you think this was a good idea?"

"A birthday party?" Ginny tilted her head at him.

"Just, having it here instead of at Andy's?" Harry sighed and shook his head.

"Hey," Ginny wrapped her arms around his middle, "Remus and Tonks made you Teddy's godfather because they knew they could count on you to treat him like your own. And his home is our home, right?"

Harry pulled her closer and swallowed the lump in his throat further down.

"You're right, I just…" He trailed off.

"I know," Ginny rested her head on his shoulder.

Teddy was ten years old, today. Nearly ten years ago Remus asked Harry to be godfather. Nearly ten years ago Remus and Tonks would leave their son and never make it back to him.

Harry and Ginny had three children of their own now, the youngest of whom was sleeping in her room, but Harry felt guilty whenever he considered Teddy his own. Harry's feelings about the whole situation were complicated. He worried about taking more from Andy than she had already lost. He worried about erasing the importance of Remus and Tonks from Teddy's life by trying too hard to be the father figure in Teddy's life. And he worried most of all that he wasn't doing right by Teddy. That he was only going to make things worse for this fellow orphan.

But before he could rehash all these concerns with Ginny for the millionth time, the fireplace burned green and the birthday boy tumbled out of the grate, hands tightly gripping Jamie and Al.

"Is Lily awake yet?" Teddy pulled Al up from the floor as he stood before helping Jamie to stand.

"Not yet, dear," Ginny laughed as Andromeda stepped gracefully out of the fireplace.

"You two have outdone yourselves," Andy smiled as she looked around the room. "This looks wonderful."

Harry ruffled Teddy's hair and smiled, "It's not every day one turns ten."

"Daddy," Jamie pulled on his leg, "Can Teddy play the video game with us until his friends get here?"

"Sure thing, mate." Harry nodded the cheering boys towards the Muggle-room.

Andy sighed, "I can't believe that one more year and then we'll send him off to Hogwarts."

Harry felt his hand in his hair and took a deep breath.

"How did we get here?" He chuckled and grinned at Ginny. "I still feel like the kid that snuck around at the Burrow with you."

"Oh, you'll always feel like that," Andy chuckled. "I still feel like the girl that sat in the back of an automobile for the first time with Ted and felt like the biggest rebel in the Wizarding World."

Ginny grinned, "Little did you know that your cousin would be on a mission to take your title."

Harry laughed as the stories of Sirius that Andy had told them came to mind.

"He was more worthy of the title than I was in the end," Andy smiled.

And then the doorbell rang and the circus began. Harry both loved it and felt like they were insane. Within about five minutes they had nine ten-year-old boys, Victoire, and his two boys running through the house like the world was on fire - and they had started it.

"Why is there a girl here?"

Harry spun around from where he was to defend his niece's presence at Teddy's party only to see Ginny advancing on the unsuspecting boy. But she never got to say her piece.

"Vicky's my best friend," Teddy pulled Vic into a one-armed hug. "And she has really good control over her magic already. Show them, Vicky, make those bright blue flowers."

And suddenly Victoire was the coolest one at the party.

Harry shared a smile with Ginny as relief washed over both of them.

When Lily woke up, Ginny brought her down to join the party, but the minute Teddy saw Lily he asked to hold her.

"You like to hold the baby?" A different little boy asked as Teddy started explaining to Lily the game that was being played.

"Of course, I do," Teddy smiled, "she's my sister."

Teddy kept Lily with him until she'd had enough and wanted to eat.

The boys ran and played choosing to play games in the back garden for a time. Harry volunteered to be the adult to go out into the damp weather, and that was when it started.

"Hey, Teddy's dad," one of the boys ran up to him. "Can you help me? My shoelace is knotted and I can't get it undone."

Harry's brain stopped. Mechanically he undid the knot and even tied the boy's shoelace, but inside he was panicking. What was he supposed to do? Should he correct the child? Would that embarrass Teddy? Would it be better to pull Teddy aside and ask what he wanted? Was Teddy telling the kids Harry was his dad?

It all felt overwhelming.

Then another of the boys ran up. "Teddy's dad, where's the loo?"

Harry took a deep breath and directed the boy back inside. Why was this happening? What was he supposed to do? Why was there not a book or something that Hermione could throw at him about how to be a proper godfather to a child who was orphaned because you couldn't defeat a crazed murder with a world domination complex fast enough?

"Teddy's dad, what time is it?"

Harry thought he might scream.

And then Ginny was there.

"Why don't you lot all come inside and we'll have Teddy open presents?"

Harry could have kissed her. It was hard enough seeing how fast Teddy was growing up and knowing that Jamie and Al and even tiny Lily would follow suit, let alone adding these awful mixed-up feelings about the ten-year anniversary of the end of the war and now being called Teddy's dad.

"Teddy's mum, have him open mine first!"

Harry looked up and caught Ginny's eye. She looked about as floored as Harry had felt the first time one of the boys called him in the same fashion.

They both turned to look at Teddy.

Teddy smiled and reached out for the present. Ginny handed it to him with a watery smile.

"Oh wait," Teddy paused and turned to Andy, "can I hold Lily? I want to show her how to unwrap a present."

Andy handed over Lily and shared a long look with Harry and Ginny. She smiled encouragingly at them and Harry determined that as much as he didn't want to, they really did need to address this. But the birthday and the party came first, and so they finished up the last hour with presents and a trip to the Muggle room where Teddy introduced all his friends to video games.

It flew by and in a blink everyone was back home, Bill picking up Vicky last and leaving the Potter-Lupin-Tonks family to sort out their insanity.

"Did you have a good party, Teddy?" Ginny asked as Teddy showed Jamie how to use one of the presents.

"This was awesome! Thank you!" Teddy grinned before trying to lure Lily over to him with her blanket.

"Mate," Harry waved the last of the rubbish to the bin, "we noticed that you didn't correct your friends when they called us your mum and dad."

Teddy scooped Lily up and gave her a hug, "Yeah, it's easier."

Harry's heart clenched, and he wasn't sure which emotion within him was going to win out.

"What do you mean, love?" Andy put a hand on Teddy's shoulder.

Teddy changed his hair color and made Lily giggle.

"Well, I mean, I guess they're sort of right. Some of the lads know that you two are my godparents, not my parents, but I guess, well..." He frowned.

"Think it through," Ginny smiled, "there's no rush."

Teddy nodded and his hair slowly shifted back to its regular brown. Then he looked at Harry.

"You once told me that you were going to try and be as good as my dad."

Harry nodded, finding that pesky lump in his throat trying to climb higher.

"And, well," Teddy paused again, "I guess that I don't correct them because you are as good as my parents. They can't be here, but you can, and so, I guess, I guess that it's not worth correcting them because they're not wrong."

"Well said, Teddy," Andromeda smiled at them as she squeezed Teddy's shoulder.

Harry moved to the floor and wrapped Teddy in his arms, quickly feeling Ginny there with him.

Lily immediately took advantage of the proximity to steal his glasses.

But Harry didn't mind at that moment. Because this amazing boy had managed to settle the anxiety that Harry had been feeling all day with the simplicity that can only come from a child. Remus and Tonks weren't here, no matter how much Harry wanted to change that, and he owed it to them to be there for Teddy in every way he could.

And that included being the godfather that Teddy needed, the kind that let him choose when to worry about the prefix, and when not to.


End file.
